Celebration Beyond (Un-)Belief: The Potential of Negative Hermeneutics for a Liturgical Apophaticism

Abstract

This essay demonstrates how the engagement with specific liturgical traditions and the ambiguity of their celebration allows for an understanding of liturgy beyond the dichotomy of belief and unbelief. It analyses the potential of a “negative hermeneutics” of liturgical studies in the context of what is perceived as “cultural unbelief.” Taking Lieven Boeve's concept of a “cultural apophaticism” as a basis, it explores the reach of a negative hermeneutical approach, highlighting the paradoxical and apophatic character of the liturgical celebration and its necessary failure and developing the idea of a “liturgical apophaticism.” It shows how the liturgical celebration does not simply counteract the dynamic of unbelief but exceeds it. In a final step, this essay explores the potential that liturgy has to recreate and transform “unbelief” and the implications of negative aspects of faith and belief for the broader theological discourse.